August 9, 2020 at 2:03 pm
<!--more-->I've been WFH for eight years. When this all happened it felt like everything around me was changing but nothing was changing for me. And I was fascinated by all the people talking about how hard it was to be home all the time. It made me realize that what I had always thought of as a perk was something some people would dread. These are some of the things I learned from WFH in those 8 years. Set a schedule and stick with it. Get dressed and feed yourself before starting work. If possible, have an office. Windows are important but if you can't have that, walk around outside or spend breaks looking through a window. Set boundaries with family members. I don't know how many times I've had family members come in and I had to give them the - i'm on a meeting look. I never did zoom though, it was always webex. If you zoom, I would recommend a sign indicating when you're on a call so as not to be disturbed. Take your lunch break. I blocked my calendar for an hour each day at noon. Exercise is so much easier to integrate in now that there are so many classes online. Create a weekly dinner plan. That way you avoid unnecessary trips to the grocery store and you can start cooking right after work. Also, you're home (!), pick recipes that you can throw in the oven during the day! Just keep your timer with you!! All those things helped me. I was actually laid off as part of this so now i'm learning to be home and NOT work! 😉
I like your regiment, Sarah. WFH is something I've desired for many years. Its very nice to finally be able to do it! Because I've wanted to WFH for so long I've read extensively on it. I was already familiar with needing to dress for work, even if I WFH. So, from day one of this forced WFH I've dressed. I have never worked in my pajamas, for example. I were my business shirt the whole work day. I used to wear pants and shoes, until it got too hot. (We've been over 90 degrees Fahrenheit, 32 degrees Celsius. We experience a couple weeks of temperatures in the 100s F, 38s C.) I'm now wearing shorts and a good pair of sandals. Before we went on lockdown I was putting in 10K steps per day, according to my fitness tracker. I've been able to maintain that regiment, by taking short walks outside every hour and during lunch going for longer walks.
If you don't mind my asking, what industry was it you were WFH for 8 years with? I'm sorry to learn of your job loss.
Kindest Regards, Rod Connect with me on LinkedIn.
August 10, 2020 at 1:53 pm
I loved cycling for one job, about 10 miles and mostly separated from traffic. Only a couple scary spots. Before that I had a 12mi cycle, but it was on busy roads. My wife did not like that, but I enjoyed the ride.
Now my commute is to the gym, usually the middle of the day, so not so much traffic.
August 11, 2020 at 2:18 pm
As mentioned on one of your previous posts, Steve, I've been WFH for more than a year, so not COVID related. For the most part it's fine. I find that while I am exercising most of my professional skills, the collaboration side is bound to atrophy a bit, even with Zoom calls and such.
One of the early insights I gained from grad school was what one professor termed the "peripheral conversations." Not the stuff that happens in planned meetings, but the unplanned, spontaneous chatter that happens at the "water cooler" that often sparks ideas and breakthroughs. Or at the very least strengthens connections and helps underpin collaboration.
No way to replicate that in WFH.
Trying to figure out the world of SQL as marketing consultant for SQL Solutions Group https://sqlsolutionsgroup.com/
August 11, 2020 at 2:48 pm
We're finding that as well. I'm hoping we try something to help random conversations. We've talked about leaving a meeting open for people to randomly join.
August 12, 2020 at 1:52 pm
As mentioned on one of your previous posts, Steve, I've been WFH for more than a year, so not COVID related. For the most part it's fine. I find that while I am exercising most of my professional skills, the collaboration side is bound to atrophy a bit, even with Zoom calls and such.
One of the early insights I gained from grad school was what one professor termed the "peripheral conversations." Not the stuff that happens in planned meetings, but the unplanned, spontaneous chatter that happens at the "water cooler" that often sparks ideas and breakthroughs. Or at the very least strengthens connections and helps underpin collaboration.
No way to replicate that in WFH.
Let me play the Devil's advocate here, not to be argumentative, but more because I haven't had enough WFH experience to know.
Wouldn't it be possible to gain those spontaneous "peripheral conversations" (I love that term, by your professor) with things like MS Teams/Zoom/Discord/etc. general rooms (or whatever they're called per platform) for conversation? For example, I've heard of some companies doing Friday, after hours Happy Hour where everyone gets together to drink a beer and share how their week went, etc. Wouldn't that due?
Kindest Regards, Rod Connect with me on LinkedIn.
August 12, 2020 at 2:15 pm
We have some calls like that. I often join a US sales happy hour Thur afternoon and we have a random assignment call Fri am for the UK.
However, these aren't quite spontaneous. You can't just bump into someone easily, or see someone walking and talk to them one on one. I wish the tools were a little easier to drop into a private room to chat, or even a separate one.
I'm hoping we try something like having some open calls just running, but the hard part for now is the tools usually require someone to host things and take control.
August 12, 2020 at 5:23 pm
JRuss wrote:As mentioned on one of your previous posts, Steve, I've been WFH for more than a year, so not COVID related. For the most part it's fine. I find that while I am exercising most of my professional skills, the collaboration side is bound to atrophy a bit, even with Zoom calls and such.
One of the early insights I gained from grad school was what one professor termed the "peripheral conversations." Not the stuff that happens in planned meetings, but the unplanned, spontaneous chatter that happens at the "water cooler" that often sparks ideas and breakthroughs. Or at the very least strengthens connections and helps underpin collaboration.
No way to replicate that in WFH.
Let me play the Devil's advocate here, not to be argumentative, but more because I haven't had enough WFH experience to know.
Wouldn't it be possible to gain those spontaneous "peripheral conversations" (I love that term, by your professor) with things like MS Teams/Zoom/Discord/etc. general rooms (or whatever they're called per platform) for conversation? For example, I've heard of some companies doing Friday, after hours Happy Hour where everyone gets together to drink a beer and share how their week went, etc. Wouldn't that due?
That could be a start. I wouldn't object.
A semi-related idea: I had two "big ideas" hit me when I was out of the office for a somewhat relaxed conference. I think the change of scenery helped. Guess I need to find ways to change my scenery more, too.
Trying to figure out the world of SQL as marketing consultant for SQL Solutions Group https://sqlsolutionsgroup.com/
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